From Student to Teacher - Passing on the Faith

It’s 7 p.m. on a frigid winter night, a time of the evening when most people have settled onto their couch for a post-dinner evening of watching Netflix or catching up on some reading. That’s not the case for the combined RCIA class of St. Martin of Tours and St. Edward Parishes. Weekly participants are listening to RCIA class leader, Rich Furney, introduce the class topic for the evening, the Eucharist.

From the time he was a child, Rich felt drawn to the Catholic Church and spent decades learning about the faith, reading through the entire texts of both the Catechism and the Bible. The Eucharist is a particular favorite RCIA topic of Rich’s, a former career Army man, who entered into the Church just four years ago. He remembers vividly that first time he received the Eucharist on Easter Vigil in 2015.

“I knew I’d be a different person,” he said. “and I was. Becoming Catholic has been the single most important thing I’ve done in my life.”

“My class has heard me say that [learning] about Catholicism can be like drinking from a fire hose,” he laughs. “However, Symbolon is very practical and well-done.” And why does a new Catholic like Rich now help teach the faith? “Helping with RCIA allows me to deepen my own understanding of the faith,” he explains. “It’s also an honor to witness to other people’s journeys.”